HAWKS12thMAN
NWKRC THUG!
WOW its freaking hot up here! The outside temp raised to 104F today. I'm posting this thread due to the many struggles Ive had with tank temp in the past. Some of you may remember my thread on "AC..... the best investment for a reefer." For those of you who remember the thread great! This is intended for all the newbies that are in my same boat I was. I have AC now and let me tell you on days like today I'm finding its still a struggle to maintain a reasonable tank temp. I couldn't imagine all the extremes I would of had to go threw today without it.
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"AC..... the best investment for a reefer." June 2007
I live in the great northwest, aside from all the rain the weather is pretty reasonable here. Its only spring and my house never gets over 82 deg until late July or early August. This is the first summer my tank will go through inhabited. Last summer it was cycling until fall.
My girlfriend, daughter and myself all went on a week long vacation over memorial day weekend. The weather report looked cool and beautiful, so I had no worries(last time I trust the local news stations). My neighbors were kind enough to watch over my house and fish. All my lights are on timers so all they had to do was feed them once in a while. By all means this is not there fault its just a freak accident.
While we were gone the temperature spiked to over 90 deg. We were in a place were I couldn't get cell reception so I never checked in with my neighbors. Guess who doesn't have an air conditioner......ME. We're not the richest people in the world and we didn't budget buying an AC until the middle of June.
Long story short...... When we got home we found our tank at 89.8 deg. Many soft corals and inverts dead..... but all the fish were fine, weird huh. Side note.... My tank overheating caused my fish to get stressed out and contract Itch. Need-lees to say they all died but one within a couple weeks!
I am writing this for a reason. You really don't want your tank over 82F. I found a couple quick ways to combat tank temp until you can afford an AC or chillier.... remember a chiller will actually raise the temp in your house so all though your fish are happy, your dying of heat stroke!
(1) Digital thermometers that displays tank temp and room temp. This is a good reference for a couple reasons. It not only helps you monitor tank temp but it also allows you to monitor room temp. If you can keep room temp down the tank temp will follow suit. Some digi thermos come with alarms. Although I haven't used them Ive heard great things about them.
(2) Put your lights on timers have them come on earlier in the morning and kick off in the early evening.
(3) REMOVE TANK COVERS! DO NOT USE HEATERS! Evaporation is your friend. Tank covers are you best friend in the winter and your worst nightmare in the summer, If you have a tank hood, open it up while your away. Same with your sump/refugium and tank stand. Open them up! On my nano cubes i use tooth picks to keep the feeding lids open.
(4) Aim fans at your tank Box fans pointed at the tank are OK but, the clip-on fans from wal-mart and Fred Meyer work great. clip them to the rim of your tank and point them at the water.
(5) freeze a dozen water bottles without the label on them. Drop them in my tank (or if you have a sump) 3 at a time during the hottest part of the day. They melt in about half an hour. Repeat this procedure until the tank to a reasonable temp. It sounds crazy but really works if your in a pinch.
(6) Refrigerate all of your top off water. I lose about 3/4 of a gallon a day in the heat. When the refrigerated water is added to your tank the temp kicks down a degree or two.
I hope this helps a couple of people. If none of this works and you really cant afford an AC there is instruction for a chiller below. Or you could go steal someones AC widow unit....lol
How to make your own chiller courtesy of SeaHorse Aquarium Supply
If you have a Venturi protein skimmer you can build a "cooler chiller". Use a 30-50 foot coil of 1/4" id vinyl hose and attach one end to the air inlet of your skimmer. Place the coil in the bottom of a cooler and leave the other end sticking out into the room air. Put 10 - 20 lbs of ice in the cooler. The Venturi will inject cold air into the water.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AC..... the best investment for a reefer." June 2007
I live in the great northwest, aside from all the rain the weather is pretty reasonable here. Its only spring and my house never gets over 82 deg until late July or early August. This is the first summer my tank will go through inhabited. Last summer it was cycling until fall.
My girlfriend, daughter and myself all went on a week long vacation over memorial day weekend. The weather report looked cool and beautiful, so I had no worries(last time I trust the local news stations). My neighbors were kind enough to watch over my house and fish. All my lights are on timers so all they had to do was feed them once in a while. By all means this is not there fault its just a freak accident.
While we were gone the temperature spiked to over 90 deg. We were in a place were I couldn't get cell reception so I never checked in with my neighbors. Guess who doesn't have an air conditioner......ME. We're not the richest people in the world and we didn't budget buying an AC until the middle of June.
Long story short...... When we got home we found our tank at 89.8 deg. Many soft corals and inverts dead..... but all the fish were fine, weird huh. Side note.... My tank overheating caused my fish to get stressed out and contract Itch. Need-lees to say they all died but one within a couple weeks!
I am writing this for a reason. You really don't want your tank over 82F. I found a couple quick ways to combat tank temp until you can afford an AC or chillier.... remember a chiller will actually raise the temp in your house so all though your fish are happy, your dying of heat stroke!
(1) Digital thermometers that displays tank temp and room temp. This is a good reference for a couple reasons. It not only helps you monitor tank temp but it also allows you to monitor room temp. If you can keep room temp down the tank temp will follow suit. Some digi thermos come with alarms. Although I haven't used them Ive heard great things about them.
(2) Put your lights on timers have them come on earlier in the morning and kick off in the early evening.
(3) REMOVE TANK COVERS! DO NOT USE HEATERS! Evaporation is your friend. Tank covers are you best friend in the winter and your worst nightmare in the summer, If you have a tank hood, open it up while your away. Same with your sump/refugium and tank stand. Open them up! On my nano cubes i use tooth picks to keep the feeding lids open.
(4) Aim fans at your tank Box fans pointed at the tank are OK but, the clip-on fans from wal-mart and Fred Meyer work great. clip them to the rim of your tank and point them at the water.
(5) freeze a dozen water bottles without the label on them. Drop them in my tank (or if you have a sump) 3 at a time during the hottest part of the day. They melt in about half an hour. Repeat this procedure until the tank to a reasonable temp. It sounds crazy but really works if your in a pinch.
(6) Refrigerate all of your top off water. I lose about 3/4 of a gallon a day in the heat. When the refrigerated water is added to your tank the temp kicks down a degree or two.
I hope this helps a couple of people. If none of this works and you really cant afford an AC there is instruction for a chiller below. Or you could go steal someones AC widow unit....lol
How to make your own chiller courtesy of SeaHorse Aquarium Supply
If you have a Venturi protein skimmer you can build a "cooler chiller". Use a 30-50 foot coil of 1/4" id vinyl hose and attach one end to the air inlet of your skimmer. Place the coil in the bottom of a cooler and leave the other end sticking out into the room air. Put 10 - 20 lbs of ice in the cooler. The Venturi will inject cold air into the water.
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